I've been on LiveJournal for going on thirteen years. During that time, The Powers That Be have been guilty of dumbassery now and then. So it goes.

But the times are challenging enough without facing additional censorship and bigotry from our current LiveJournal comrades in Russia.

I hate to leave. I have dear friends here. I even have a permanent account! But I'm going.

All of my past posts are backed up here on Dreamwidth, and I'll be establishing a regular presence there. I've already started posting there. But in the near future, I'll be spending more time on my new Tumblr. I suspect that's the better place to relocate my annual Halloween countdown, if indeed I relocate it. (Your thoughts?)

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... Body in Question: Image and Illusion in Two Chinese Films by Director Jiang Wen is a wonderful resource. I thought I'd share my mini-review here. I'm still working on my post with a breakdown/review of his films, FYI.

Body in Question offers extremely useful insights for unpacking renowned Chinese filmmaker Jiang Wen’s subversive and celebrated films In the Heat of the Sun and Devils on the Doorstep (especially considering that the author met with Jiang Wen “to confirm the views expressed” in the book) and also understanding/appreciating Jiang’s larger vision and process as a filmmaker. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in political, banned/censored, independent, and/or Chinese film -- or, for that matter, anyone interested in 20th century political/social history.

Also, the latest episode of StarShipSofa includes my new "Looking Back on Genre History," part one of a two-part discussion of the relationship of one of my very favorite authors, Lois McMaster Bujold, to fandom (and fan fiction, in particular). Here it is! If you listen, I hope you enjoy!

(And speaking of StarShipSofa, heartfelt thanks to those of you who have helped make Everyone: Worlds Without Walls a reality! We're most grateful to you!)

Last but not least, it seems that I've embarked on an in-depth study of the films of award-winning actor-director-writer Jiang Wen, sort of a personal (and multi-month-long) film festival that also includes reading the popular and scholarly analyses of his work that are available in English. (I've found that his films are kind of dream dining for someone who does intellectual history, though I'm having to brush up a bit on my knowledge of recent China, which, hey, is a good thing.) When that's all done, expect a report, including breakdown of his films with brief reviews/reactions. Consider yourself warned, ha!

I am still recovering from The Ick That Wouldn't Die, but I'm much better than I was. And we're expecting snow tomorrow, which makes me very happy indeed. I hope all of you are doing well, my friends!

“For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much — the wheel, New York, wars and so on — whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man — for precisely the same reasons.”― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979)

Current Music:"So Long and Thanks for All the Fish," Joby Talbot

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Blech! Very sick here. So many are! The ick is making the rounds. 'Tis the season, I suppose. My husband is two weeks into it and he still has little voice and lots of coughing. I'm just in week one, full of antibiotics. Joy! /Whinging

Most of all, I just want to share the news about an amazing and inspiring project created by StarShipSofa's Districts of Wonders network, one I'm deeply honored to be a part of: Everyone: Worlds Without Walls, a speculative fiction anthology of new and diverse voices from around the globe. I invite you to check it out!